After their parents are killed by Angelus, Xander and Willow are taken in by Xander's biological father, Jack O'Neill, and head off to Colorado Springs, prepared to accept life away from all things that give you a Wiggins. Well, that was the plan anyway.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and Stargate SG1 belongs to MGM and Brad Wright.

It was said that grief brings people together. In the aftermath of what had been happening lately in Sunnydale, ever since Buffy's 17th birthday and the night that Angel had, for lack of a better phrase, reverted back to being a psychotic serial killer, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg had been inclined to think the opposite. Grief and loss shattered everything, especially when it was coming from nearly every aspect of their lives.

When it had been first discovered that Angel had gone bad, the Scooby gang had known that it would be bad but none of them had ever realized how bad it would actually be.

Jenny had been the first to die, killed during a late night session translating the spell that would have potentially ended the vampire's war of terror against Buffy and her friends. The techno pagan's neck had been broken and her body cruelly lain out on Giles' bed for the Watcher to find.

Then Angelus had struck hard, attacking both the Rosenberg house and the Harris residence in one night while Willow and Xander were busy researching at the library. Both of them had come home to find their parents slaughtered. Xander's parents had been in the living room, in front of the TV, which was blaring in the background, a splash of blood decorating the screen. Willow's parents had been stripped naked, their throats ripped out, with a detailed sketch of the scene left on Willow's pillow to find.

Neither of them would ever forget that night, nor the night that followed a few days later, when the library, the inner sanctum of the Scooby gang, had been attacked by Drusilla and her minions while Willow had been attempting the soul restoration ritual. Kendra, the second vampire Slayer, had been killed and Willow had a bookcase dropped on her head, leaving her in a coma.

When Willow had woken up to find that it all hadn't been some nightmare conjured up by her mind, she'd sworn that she would re-soul Angel and end the conflict, following Ms. Calendar's dying wish. Xander, scared that he would loose Willow in the same way that he lost his parents, had stayed with Cordelia at Willow's side, ordering Oz to go and alert Buffy about the second attempt, as she'd been trying to prevent Angelus from ending the world.

Willow had performed the spell, as Xander and Cordelia watched on, and something had definitely happened, they were all sure of it, and as the three waited for Oz, Buffy and possibly a souled Angel to return, Xander secretly hoping that he could pummel the vampire, wether he remembered his actions or not. The way that the world didn't seem to end filled them up with hope.

Only to have that hope dashed when Oz returned, alone. The red-haired werewolf had described watching through a window as Buffy and Angelus fought, having delivered the message. His keen ears had picked out the confusion in Angel's voice, as well as the impressive light show, that indicated the soul restoration spell had been effective, though too late to save Buffy and Angel. The portal had opened and they had both been sucked into it before it had closed.

The Slayer and her vampire were dead.

And this time, Buffy wasn't coming back.

And so, the Scooby gang had been broken. Giles, consumed by his grief over losing both his love and the Slayer he loved as a daughter within such a short period of time, had shut himself off, focusing on the vain hope that Buffy was still alive in some hell dimension and throwing himself into his books and research. Cordelia mourned quietly for the only competition she had for the homecoming queen title and for the kind of friend she had in Buffy, and Oz mourned the friendship that he had shared with the Slayer for a short period of time. Joyce, who had taken in Xander and Willow after their parents were killed, mourned for her daughter, still struggling to understand the full weight of Buffy's destiny as the Slayer. Snyder didn't mourn at all, happy to see a notorious troublemaker like Buffy Summers gone from the school halls.

But it was Xander and Willow who struggled with their grief the most. They'd lost their closest friend, other than each other, and their parents within a few short days of one another. They'd been isolated from their friends, as Cordelia and Oz had been forced back to school by their parents and Snyder, and Giles and Joyce were too caught up in their own grief, so Willow and Xander were left alone, finding refuge in Buffy's old bedroom, grieving their losses together and dreading the days that were to come.

Xander had always known that Tony Harris was not his biological father but his stepfather instead, as Tony had seen fit to remind Xander during the physical and verbal abuse he had inflicted. Xander's real biological father was his mother, Jessica's, first husband, Jack. When they had divorced Jessica and Jack had each taken one of their children, Xander and his twin brother Charlie. Over the years, they had both remarried, not contacting each other, and keeping the two separate families just that… separate.

Until the day Jack called and told Jessica that Charlie was dead. Xander had eavesdropped on his parents as his mother told Tony. She refused to go to the funeral and Xander had secretly and privately mourned his brother.

Naturally, Xander had told Willow everything he knew about Jack, which wasn't much. All Xander knew was his first name, Charlie's name, and that Charlie was his twin. Xander's mother had also told him that if something happened to both her and Tony, then he would be sent to live with Jack, as per the custody agreement. Currently, the Sunnydale Police Department were trying to track down Xander's dad.

Willow, on the other hand, had no relatives that were waiting to take her in. Her mother had told her, when she was 10, that in the even of the death of Ira and Sheila, Willow would be placed in the foster system, firstly because she had not other relatives and secondly because the foster system built up a person's sense of identity and helped them become responsible, community-minded, resilient people within the wider community, who were widely respected and looked up to by others.

Willow was never sure which piece of research had told her mother this, but the idea of going into foster care, away from Xander and Sunnydale, terrified her. She'd hoped and prayed, especially after discovering the truth about Sunnydale's nightlife, that her parents would survive to see her 18th birthday.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, thanks to Angelus, and now it would only be a matter of time before Social Services came to visit.

A few days after Buffy's disappearance, there was a knock on the door of the Summers' residence. Joyce, her eyes red and puffy from crying, went and answered it, surprised to find a tall man with greying hair standing on her front doorstep, dressed in a pair of jeans and a clean shirt.

"Hello, my name is Jack O'Neill. I'm here to see Alexander," He said politely. Joyce cleared her throat, dabbing at the tears in her eyes with a tissue.

"Oh, of course. He's upstairs with Willow." She stepped aside, remembering Buffy warning her about inviting people inside, even though it was the middle of the day. Jack stepped through the door easily and Joyce relaxed.

"This way," she said, leading him into the living room where Giles was sitting, trying to research hell dimensions. He hastily put the book down, though, when he saw the stranger.

"Rupert, this is Jack O'Neill. He's come to see Xander," Joyce introduced.

"Rupert Giles. I'm the librarian from Xander's school."

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force and Alexander's dad."

"Ah, yes, He's been waiting for you to come. The police were having difficulties tracking you down." Giles nodded as they shook hands.

"So I heard. I've been away with my work for the last few days. I only got home last night and saw the message on my answering machine. I caught the next flight over."

While they talked, Joyce left the room, heading upstairs to Buffy's room where Xander and Willow were bound to be. They had been hanging around in the living room, but now that Willow was free of the wheelchair that she had been confined to for a few days following her release form hospital, they'd relocated to the privacy of Buffy's old bedroom.

Joyce felt guilt well up within her as she reflected on how she and Giles had treated the remaining members of Buffy's group of friends, especially Xander and Willow.

The pair had lost everything, except one another, and now they were going to be separated. Sometimes life could be far too cruel.

A.N. Here's the first chapter of my latest offering. Feedback is greatly appreciated, as I am very new to the whole Stargate fandom.

On that note, I own all errors, and spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Tell me what you think. I hope you've enjoyed I so far.

R.W.

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